Warrensburg grad offering free talk on finances

Attorney Thomas Holmgren, a 2009 graduate of Warrensburg Junior-Senior High School, will be giving a free educational presentation at the high school on March 5 at 7 p.m. to promote financial literacy. Holmgren said many people, even financial advisors, sometimes do not understand basic financial matters such as the interest they are paying on their credit cards.

WARRENSBURG | A 2009 graduate of the Warrensburg Central is returning on March 5 to hold a free seminar on financial literacy as a public service to local residents.

Thomas Holmgren is now an attorney who said he recently became aware that people, even leaders in the business community, need to learn some of the basics in terms of understanding finances and personal economics.

He will be giving a 90-minute presentation on basic financial matters at the high school on Monday, March 5 at 7 p.m.

Holmgren is not a financial advisor, nor is he selling financial services. However, after graduation from Warrensburg High School, he attended Hartwick College in Oneonta where he started studying economics.

He eventually earned multiple bachelor degrees before attending the University of Connecticut School of Law, earning a Doctor of Jurisprudence (JD) degree.

Holmgren started to learn about state and local taxes and other financial matters while in law school.

“I took a really good course, where I learned how markets work and some more complex things, but I also learned the importance of simpler things, such as how interest compounds,” he said.

As a working lawyer, one of the partners at a firm asked him to go to a financial seminar in Albany where people would get advice on starting a business or other topics. A number of business leaders from Albany attended the seminar, which featured a financial advisor.

“I was shocked by some of the things the financial advisor said, such as, you would be worse off if you made more money,” Holmgren said.

He said the person generally confused issues related to estate tax, the whole purpose behind the tax system, state and local tax deductions and attempted to tell people how to avoid paying taxes.

“I thought if business leaders were getting the wrong information and can’t understand the topics presented at the seminar, then people who can’t understand how interest compounds on their credit card won’t get it,” he said.

A few days after the seminar, Holmgren called Warrensburg High School Principal Doug Duell and told him he would be willing to give a talk on financial literacy.

They arranged to have the free, 90-minute presentation at the school on Monday, March 5 at 7 p.m. The talk will be free and open to the public.

Among the topics to be covered: compound interest, how taxes work, the difference between a credit and a deduction, whether you should file single or married returns, what basis is, the difference between a traditional and a Roth IRA, index funds, ETFs, how insurance is priced, how bonds and annuities and stocks are priced, how things are taxed when you die, how your credit score is calculated, what inflation really means, when bankruptcy is a good idea and much more.

The Warrensburg Junior-Senior High School is located at 103 Schroon River Road Warrensburg.